Perfect Balance: Angelic Chronicles
by Damon Wolf Cub
Summary: Book 1 of a series, chronologically Book 2: Somehow ending up in Skyworld, an attack from the Underworld prompts a no-longer-ordinary teenager to help Pit and Palutena protect humanity. Can I really help, or do these powers need more skill to be of use to anyone? And what to do with knowledge that could change everything! I'm still inexperienced...
1. Chapter 1: The Return of Palutena

**Please give this story a chance before you just write off my OC a Gary Stu and leave.**

 **Notes: Italic dialogue,** _"Like this,"_ **is telepathy.** _'This is how I write thoughts.'_

* * *

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Pit announced, jumping out the door into the open blue skies as a blue glow engulfed his wings. Palutena and I turned to the viewing pond as the image changed to Pit in flight. _"It's been too long! Right, Lady Palutena?"_

"We can all chat later, Pit." Palutena replied. "But now it's time to fight! The Underworld Army's invading!"

Suddenly, a floating sphere with a large eye and tiny tendrils called a Monoeye popped up in front of Pit. _"Whoa, you weren't kidding!"_ He replied, slashing through it with his First Blade.

"The First Blade I gave you is a weak, but balanced weapon," Palutena began explaining. "You can shoot enemies from afar or attack up close using it. Simply swinging it at the enemy activates the blade."

Pit blasted two Monoeyes with rapid fire, and then slashed two more that popped up. One farther away was taken care of by a charged blast. _"If these are Underworld troops, are you saying Medusa's been-?"_

"Resurrected, yes," Palutena intercepted. "Though the goddess of darkness was defeated long ago, she's back now." An eight-bit image of Medusa from the first _Kid Icarus_ appeared beside the viewing pond as well as in front of Pit, though that one seemed transparent. Pit continued fighting enemies as Palutena spoke again. "And as the goddess of light, it's my duty to protect humanity from her."

" _Eh, you worry too much!"_ Pit confidently replied as Medusa's image vanished. Just then, the sky was tinted red as a large hand reached out of the clouds before falling back below. Then, black hair with twelve snakes, a head with a pale skin tone, and a questionable dress came back up in the image of Medusa's top half.

She held a staff with a snake decoration near the end in her left hand and wore a purple dress with gold linings. Said dress had one sleeve and was held up enough to cover the important parts by a gold bracelet on her left arm, though her left side was uncovered. Both of her entire eyes glowed red in a scowl as she leaned forward, before she stood up straight. The glow vanished, revealing purple eyes.

" _Medusa!"_ Pit exclaimed.

" _Hello there, Pit,"_ she replied. _"And you too, Palutena. Here to crash my homecoming party?"_ She asked as Pit shot down more Monoeyes

"Uh, this really doesn't look like much of a party…." Palutena said.

" _What better way to celebrate my return than with a festive little bloodbath?"_ Medusa replied, Pit still shooting Monoeyes. _"After all, I have been gone for twenty-five years."_

"Actually," I chimed in, "More like twenty-six canonically, considering my current age, and about twenty-nine by the time this fanfic came out."

Right, I supposed I should introduce myself, seeing as the chronological first book isn't out yet. My name is Shane, and I'm, well, officially a hero. I'm still inexperienced, only having one adventure under my belt so far, but I'm decently strong and I help out when I can. I'm far from perfect, I know and accept that. I don't need you people leaving just because you think all OC's or author avatars are bad. I'm thirteen during this adventure, fifteen in real life, nearly sixteen and becoming such in February. You'll see my powers in the future, for now let's get back to the story.

Medusa's image vanished as the sky returned to its true colors. Some Monoeyes began flying down, trying to get below the clouds, but Pit blasted them before they could. _"They're moving their attack to the ground!"_ he exclaimed.

"Then so are we!" Palutena replied as Pit flew around in a backward somersault before diving below the clouds. As he descended, five Monoeyes flew down below him and got in a formation that would form a star if one drew a line from one to another in the right way. He shot them all as the descent slowed and ceased above a strangely-shaped lake surrounded by grassy plains.

 _"I can't believe I'm actually flying!"_ Pit cheered as he flew over the lake, shooting some enemies in front of him.

"The power of flight is my gift to you," Palutena said. "I'll control your route so you can focus on battle, but I can only maintain this power for five minutes at a time. After that, your wings will burn up and you'll fall," She continued explaining as Pit shot down more enemies. After her explanation, Pit turned around and shot down a Treasurefish- Large fish that have treasure boxes inside of them and fly around- that dropped a Happy Trigger power up. It flew into him as he blasted more Monoeyes, letting him fire charged shots to his heart's content.

 _"You have no idea how embarrassing it is to be an angel who can't fly on his own,"_ Pit replied, continuing to shoot monsters. _"So thanks for your help. Without you, I'd be finished!"_

Pit turned back to his flight path, holding his fire for a moment as there were no longer enemies in the immediate area. Then, he fired a charged shot at a Monoeye that popped up, also grabbing some floating red orbs with white outlines. "Holding your fire charges power in your weapon. You can tell when it's charged by a little noise, kind of like a beeping sound," Palutena explained.

Upon reaching some hills, Pit continued firing, dispatching two Gyrazers- squid looking monsters with four limbs that rotate and fire lasers from their single eye on the underside of their body- and a Keron- Oversized, cyclops frogs with bird wings instead of front legs. A short time later found the nearby enemies dispatched, so he stopped shooting until he reached a more open place in the hills with many large bodies of water that weren't quite lakes. It was a bit peaceful for a while, but soon more enemies showed up, a Nettler-giant, cyclops slug-like foe- being easily dispatched by a charged blast. Pit then evaded a Wave Angler's-evil fish thing with the head of a hammerhead shark- wave attack and destroyed it with another charged shot.

"How are things looking to you?" Palutena asked, drawing my attention to her.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up at her from the screen.

"You can adjust the feeling of depth using the slider on the right," she stated. I looked over and noticed it before returning my attention to Pit's progress.

Pit, meanwhile, continued onwards and dispatched some more Underworld forces. "Your destination should be coming into view now," Palutena said as a town became visible on the other side of a hill.

Pit gasped as it came into view, seeing the Underworld Army already attacking. _"Now they're attacking the town?! This isn't right!"_

"The people need our help! I'd better get you over there!" Palutena replied, speeding up Pit's flight. He flew very close to the ground, came within three feet of a rocky wall, and swerved upwards above the town.

It was a decently big town, not really remarkable except for the large Colosseum at the edge of town that obviously led to a temple, probably for prayers. Despite the attack and the fact that they were fleeing, the people of the town began cheering as Pit came into view and dispatched some Underworld troops.

"Do you hear that?" Pit asked, "Do you hear the people's cheers? They're celebrating the return of the goddess Palutena!" he said, blasting more Monoeyes as they attempted to descend upon the town.

"Despite the Underworld invasion, the people haven't lost hope," Palutena said. "It's our duty to protect them. Prepare for land battle, Pit!"She continued as Pit descended.

He landed at the end of an alleyway. Once he was safely on the ground, he turned and dashed, running out of it. He stopped on a street and blasted some snake-like monsters with wings called Shernum, then continued to the center of town and blasted some Monoeyes. The left street had rubble blocking it, but there was a treasure box there, so Pit ran over and opened it, getting a yellow sphere with a black, horizontal line on it. Afterwards, Pit looked over to his right, saw nothing, and moved on to the street that had been directly ahead when he stepped out of the alley. In front of him where two separate stairways with an alley between them, both which led to an upper area. In said upper area, a single stairway led to a higher area that led directly to the coliseum.

After throwing the yellow sphere and destroying an oversized jar that spawned the Shemums and dispatching two more Kerons, the sky turned red, tinting the world red once more, as fireballs rained down. _"Wh-what was that?!"_ Pit asked after evading them.

"Medusa has unleashed an evil beast in the coliseum! You need to hurry there!" Palutena told him. Pit quickly hurried up the stairs, slashing through any and all Underworld troops that tried to stop him, and eventually got to the coliseum. Running inside, he was greeted by a familiar and unwelcome presence, causing him to skid to a halt and take a battle-ready stance.

 _"Twinbellows!"_ He exclaimed.

"The Underworld's faithful watchdog," Palutena added.

Twinbellows was a giant, two-headed hound made of fire and bone with some armor on it, mostly the limbs. On either head, a boar-like tusk protruded, completely symmetrical and good for stabbing things through either side. Oddly, there was a shackle and broken chain on its left foreleg. It stood on the seats as it noticed Pit, roaring at him before jumping down to face him.

 _"Old Pit's gonna teach you some new tricks!"_ Pit exclaimed, aiming at one of its heads. _"Now play dead!"_ he yelled, jumping forward and firing a charged shot. It hit the left head, and Pit fell down from his attack, but he quickly rolled back to his feet and hopped backwards, firing three quick blasts at the hellhound as said beast breathed fire at him.

"Try circling left or right as you attack," Palutena instructed. "Keep your aim focused on the enemy."

 _"That's called strafing, right?"_ Pit responded, strafing left to evade and firing rapidly at Twinbellows.

"Whatever it's called, just stay out of his way!" Palutena replied.

Twinbellows roared and charged at Pit, who jumped aside and fired a charged blast at it. Then, Pit evaded another charge, which dazed Twinbellows and made it fall over as he rushed toward it and slashed, before slashing three more times in a combo. Pit then hopped back, shooting three more small shots, and finally finished it with one last dashing slash. Standing back up again, somehow, Twinbellows threw its heads back and howled as its body disintegrated.

 _"Yeah! Victory is mine!"_ Pit cheered.

"Excellent job, Pit!" Palutena chimed in.

"That was a bit underwhelming for a boss," I said.

"Well, what did you expect from the very first chapter?" she replied. I considered this for a moment, before nodding.

"True."

Back down with Pit, Medusa's image appeared once more, quite a distance from the colosseum but still plainly visible. Pit walked a bit closer to the image before speaking. _"Listen well, Medusa! Your days of darkness are numbered!"_ he yelled, pointing his blade at her in emphasis. _"Prepare to meet the light!"_

Medusa's image vanished as Palutena spoke. "Let's return for now," she said, a white light engulfing Pit. "This was just our first step in defeating Medusa." Pit vanished with a strange noise, and I looked up as he reappeared a few feet across from where Palutena stood at the viewing pond. "The Underworld Army has been repelled for today," Palutena said, looking up. "I suggest we all get some rest."

* * *

 **I apologize for this pitifully short, pathetic excuse for a starting chapter, but the level in the actual game isn't much longer. I swear the next chapter will be longer and better. As a bonus, it will even show you my character's powers and maybe display how much of a Gary Stu I am NOT.**

 **Seriously, I'm very sorry it's so short, but I couldn't possibly extend it much without said extension feeling like pointless filler. I promise Chapter 2 will be much better.**

 **Coming up in Perfect Balance:**  
 **Chapter 2: "Winged Star doesn't have a time limit. I'll stay out here and help the humans while you face the dark lord! ...This could NOT sound more cliche!"**  
 **Chapter 3: "Look how far you've come, Pit...I'm proud of you!"**  
 **Chapter 4: "Reapers. Reapers everywhere."**  
 **Chapter 8: "The monster situation is quite clamant."**  
 **Chapter 15: "...He has a point." "WHAT?!"**  
 **Chapter 18: I like to think a lot of things.**

* * *

With no clues on how or why I ended up in Skyworld, Palutena decided it was best for me to stay there until everything was figured out. In the meantime, Pit decided to give the me the grand tour of the temple and surrounding areas. Everything went well for a while. We were walking to see another part of Skyworld- for some reason, they decided a full tour of the place was in order- and Pit led me to a bunch of floating platforms that led to where we needed to go. That's when something strange happened.

We walked up to a ledge that hat some floating platforms across from it. "This is the way to the center of Skyworld," Pit explained. "Follow me." He took a running start, leapt over the ledge, and spread out his wings, gliding over to the first platform.

"I thought you can't fly on your own?" I asked.

"I can glide, but that's it," he replied.

"...I can't make that jump," I said, looking at the distance.

"Don't worry! You won't fall! Just trust yourself!"

"...Really hope I'm immune to fall damage..." I muttered, taking a few steps back and taking a deep breath to calm myself. I ran forth, jumped at the what I felt was the best possible time...and fell at the halfway point. In a panic, I tried to double-jump, the move still ingrained in my muscles, forgetting that I might not have the ability anymore.

Somehow, it worked. I leapt a second time, flipping head-over-toes while curled up and landing on the platform on my feet. "Wha...how...?" I asked, turning back around. "...I can still do that?" I mumbled, completely confused.

"Come on!" Pit said, jumping to the next platform. I snapped out of my thoughts, shook my head, and followed after him, still contemplating my abilities.

* * *

Once the tour was complete, I went to the Training room. The training room was basically a giant, floating blue platform in the sky with white lines and numbers all over it arranged for practice. In the center was a dummy Monoeye that literally just floated there in the center to beat up on. It was a great place to either try out the feel and power of a weapon or relieve some pent-up agression by killing the Monoeye dummy over and over. Oh yeah, the dummy would explode in a purple burst and white light after enough damage, exactly like a real Monoeye, only with a lot more health.

I was in the training room for the rest of the day, experimenting with what I could and could not still do. I quickly discovered I still had all my abilities, except one. Or so I'd thought, at the time...


	2. Chapter 2: Magnus and the Dark Lord

"And we're off!" Pit said, jumping out the door as the Power of Flight took effect.

"I'm coming too!" I exclaimed, throwing Winged Star as I ran behind him. It expanded and I jumped on. I crouched to charge its boost, stopping its movement, aimed out the door and blasted off behind Pit.

I supposed I should detail it now, while we're starting this time. Winged Star is an Air-Ride machine from Kirby Air Ride, made to fly. My version is from the anime, which has unlimited flight capabilities and much, much better control than any other machine. It's also like Kirby's anime Warp Star, and can change between amulet size and flying size to suit my needs. It's an overall bird-shaped machine that still resembles a star. The pointy head is an almost white-looking light blue, as are the wings and tail. Said tail was shaped similar to a bird's three tail feathers, though also had the boosters in them. In the center and over part of the front of the wings it is a dark blue and looks very mechanical. My usual stance on it is usually like a surfer on a board, if said surfer was also a swordsman.

I received it in my previous adventure, which was also my first one. Oh yeah, that prequel won't be out for a while, so I suppose I should describe my physical look as well. My hair is a brown-ish blonde, I've noticed it getting darker over time, and my eyes are blue. My hair is shoulder length and a bit wavy, kinda curly at the ends. I should note that my current weapons were also gotten in my previous adventure. I'm also a bit stocky.

I usually wear a sleeveless green shirt, matching green wristbands, a green martial arts headband that also matches, and white pants or shorts, the former of which I'm wearing in this chapter. White ankle socks and Greek sandals like Pit's made due as my shoes. Hey, don't blame me, I'm not the one who made the outfit! Anyway, I also have a brown belt that has a clip for my weapons. On my right side is a golden sword handle with the hand guard shaped like wings, and clipped on my other side is my white boomerang. It had a green gem in the middle of the curve, and could change shape to look more like a part of a shield.

Returning to the story, we flew out into a cloudy, grey sky, an unnatural lightning storm happening. "Ugh, this weather's nasty!" Pit complained, holding his First Blade.

" _Yes, but your next mission can't wait,"_ Palutena replied. _"You must defeat Dark Lord Gaol."_

"Heh, 'dark lord'? Seriously?" Pit asked. "Hasn't the 'dark-lord' thing been done to death already?"

"Oh," I began, "There's only…Harry Potter, Legend of Zelda, Okami, and I few more I can't think of off the top of my head."

" _Oh, Shane!"_ Palutena said, surprised. _"You're going too?"_

"Of course. I'm not just going to stay behind when I can help!" I said, drawing the Aura Blade- That's the golden handle's name- and channeling my aura into a green broadsword blade.

" _Alright…Anyway, Gaol has earned his title. He's working for Medusa. Her forces are coming from HIS castle. A human army has gone to fight him, but…they don't stand a chance,"_ Palutena explained as Pit shot down some Syrens- Human-bird monster hybrids- and I threw my boomerang to take down some Monoeyes.

"So what you're saying is, we need a brave hero to face the dark lord?" Pit asked, blasting some green spheres with purple mouths and small purple tendrils called Miks as my boomerang returned to me. Miks also have long, blue tongues they use to attack.

" _I suppose it IS an old story."_

"Try 'cliché'," I commented.

" _But don't forget that this is the Underworld Army we're dealing with,"_ Palutena continued as I fired three small, green energy spheres from my palm at more Miks. _"And anybody with the title 'dark lord' won't be some low-level minion."_

"So, what are we talking here?" Pit asked, slashing a few Moneyes apart as we flew near some funneling clouds. "Miniboss? ….Final Boss?" he continued, slashing at a Keron as we started moving past said funnel clouds.

"Well, final boss of the chapter…" I muttered as we continued.

"Well, whatever. I hope this dark lord's hungry for a hot plate of punishment!"

We dispatched more Underworld monsters while continuing to fly forward until-

"Whoa!" Pit exclaimed as he came to a sudden and quick stop before a burst of blue lightning that came very close to frying him. "Is this lightning coming from the Underworld Army?"

" _Where else would it be coming from?"_

"Uh, natural weather?" I asked, shrugging atop Winged Star.

" _No, these patterns are quite unnatural. Have you ever seen a funnel cloud without a tornado?"_

"…..Good point."

"I guess that was kind of obvious…" Pit said as we continued flying once more, shooting some more Underworld monsters. I even got a chance to slash at some of them, though it wasn't a big chance.

" _If you don't watch out, we'll be having barbequed angel tonight! And though spicy angel wings sound tasty, I'd best get you out of there."_ Palutena said, unable to resist a food joke.

"Plus… chicken is much more economicaaaaal!" Pit exclaimed as Palutena sent him into a dive. I quickly followed, blasting some more enemies. "Ahhhh! much better!" He sighed as we flew down.

" _You still have to watch out for fire from Underworld troops."_ Palutena reminded. I looked back up to see several Shrips spinning toward us. Shrips are big, buglike monsters with two legs and two eyes that have a very big blade instead of a nose. They spin vertically to attack. I boosted in front of Pit, who turned around and fired at them while I took care of several Gyrazers ahead with green blasts of aura from my left palm. _"Let's get you headed toward land."_

After shooting down the Shrips, Pit turned back to where we flew to shoot down three Monoeyes as we finally escaped the clouds and turned back to flying over the rocky mountains to our destination. I slashed through three Syrens as we continued, and I thought there was a Monoeye among them…

"How in the world would the human army make it across these mountains by foot?" Pit asked, noticing the terrain and how very unfriendly it appeared to grounded beings as we continued flying over and through the mountain, shooting Underworld monsters.

" _Do I detect a note of smugness in your voice?"_ Palutena asked.

"Uh…No no no! I'm just really happy I can fly!" Pit replied.

" _Angels shouldn't gloat, Pit."_

"What I meant to say is that I'm eternally grateful for your help." Pit said as he passed through a hole in some rocks above ground and did an aileron roll, also shooting down three more Monoeyes. I shot some Underworld troops Pit missed before following him through the rock and doing my own aileron roll.

" _Let's make our way underground,"_ Palutena said, directing Pit over a wall and into a chasm that led under the mountains. I quickly followed, shooting some distant enemies Pit didn't get. _"Not the most cheerful place, is it?"_ Palutena asked as we flew around.

"The Underworld baddies seem to like it," Pit replied as we flew onwards and shot down some Octos. Octos are similar to Monoeyes and Miks, being mostly spherical and having four small tendrils, but they also had two eyes and a tube-like mouth from which they expelled toxic rings of what looked like smoke.

" _I suppose it makes sense they'd feel at home underground."_

"It'd be like living in a basement," Pit said, shooting some Miks down. We continued flying for bit, but Pit came to a sudden stop just before a hard-to-describe place between a square of stone and a beam of stone. "Why'd we stop?" Pit asked before I could as I stopped next to him. On the wall, a Porcuspine appeared, with two Monoeyes in the background. Porcuspines are basically big blue stones shaped kinda like Super Mushrooms with one evil cyclops eye and a lot of spikes they can shoot at people.

" _Oh, I thought you might want to take in the sights….and destroy some monsters!"_ Palutena replied as we took care of the three enemies and continued, then stopped at another of the same place not ten feet from it and destroyed a second Porcuspine that had two Gyrazers for backup. After taking care of them, we ascended out of the caverns and into a rocky valley. As we continued on through the valley- Not flying over it for some reason- Another issue appeared. _"Boys, behind you!"_ Palutena warned, causing us to look back and see a Belunka head towards us.

Belunkas are basically green whales with purple undersides and fancy caps that are large, spherical, and barf up more enemies. This one chased us into the valley that we still did not simply fly over for some reason. "Let me at 'em!" Pit said, turning to shoot at it.

" _I'll control your flight path so you don't run into anything. Just focus on shooting and dodging!"_

"I'll attack it from the rear!" I called, already performing an aerial maneuver that made an 'O' shape to get behind it. Once I was on its tail, I slashed away while Pit dealt with the enemies it spawned. In mere seconds, I felt a surge and rapidly- albeit, a bit wildly, I'll admit- slashed the Belunka at high speeds, then ended by slashing into and _through_ it, ending in front of it in a pretty epic pose. Pit quickly turned back to face where he was flying once that was done.

" _Dark Lord Gaol's castle is just up ahead."_

"But…but what about that wall?" Pit asked as we approached said wall. It was a _massive_ rocky barrier, and flat, horizontal ground was very, very high up….I couldn't even see it from where we were.

" _Don't worry, I'll help you over!"_ Palutena said, alighting Pit's wings even brighter as he flew up, suddenly at ridiculous speeds. I adjusted my position, my feet on the wings and my left hand gripping the head as I tilted upwards, crouched for few seconds, and blasted off upwards.

"Whoaaaa!" Pit cried as we ascended, "G-force….in my faaaaaaaace!"

" _It's fun, right?"_

"I ask in Pit's stead, seriously, how did a human army make it across these mountains _on foot_?!" I asked, slashing through enemy fire to defend while Pit dispatched them.

In a good ten or fifteen seconds, we made it above the wall… and I had to fly in a spiral pattern in order to not blast off into the atmosphere. Once I returned Winged Star's speed to normal, I followed Pit as he cheered. "Yeah! Take that, wall!" He then gasped, "Look!" Somehow, beyond all logic, there really was a human army fighting the Underworld forces, but they were clearly outmatched. Pit and I destroyed a few Monoeyes and Gyrazers as we passed by, but…

" _The people will never defeat Gaol with the Underworld forces in their way,"_ Palutena said as we flew over, still destroying monsters on our way to castle, backlit by a gorgeous full moon silhouetting Gaol's lair.

"The humans are taking a beating!" Pit exclaimed, "They need our help!"

" _Normally I'd agree with you, but…"_

"What is it?!"

" _Do you remember how long the Power of Flight lasts?"_

"Five….minutes?"

" _And remember what happens when it runs out?"_

"My wings... burn up?"

" _We don't have time to assist the people. We have to go straight for Gaol. I'll take you into the castle. From there it's up to you to face the dark lord."_

"Hold on," I interrupted as we flew by and began circling Gaol's castle. "I can still help."

" _Huh_?" Goddess and angel replied in sync.

"Winged Star doesn't have a time limit," I stated, stopping and turning back to the battleground of humans versus Underworld. "I'll stay out here and help the humans while you face the dark lord! ...This could NOT sound more cliché!"

" _That's a good idea. Pit, you'll have to face Gaol on your own. His defeat will force the Underworld Army into retreat."_

"Roger! Get ready for a display of raw angel power!" Pit declared as we both flew off in our directions.

Blasting forth, I slashed through three Monoeyes in one swipe and threw my boomerang which took out several Shrips, and then put away my Aura Blade for a moment to charge and fire a large green ball of aura at a Nettler like an Aura Sphere attack before catching my boomerang and switching its shape as I drew the Aura Blade once more and readied both, resulting in a green shield made of aura on my left arm that was shaped like an upside-down triangle with a rounded downward point. I took a moment after this to look back at the castle and ponder Pit's progress. I only then noticed the chasm around it.

"Huh. Kinda like Ganondorf's castle," I mused, before returning to the battle.

* * *

"So _this_ is the dark lord's castle," Pit observed upon landing on the balcony of said castle.

" _Yes, he must have scrambled to build it after Medusa's resurrection."_ Palutena said as Pit grabbed some food beside the doorway that was for some reason perfectly set for him. They had plates under them and everything, which vanished as soon as he scarfed it down. _"He's using this castle as a stronghold for Underworld monsters. Monsters designed to wreak havoc and sow sadness. Are you excited?"_

"Yeah," Pit sarcastically replied, "it's like a birthday party where everyone wants to kill me." He then walked through the open doorway before him into a rectangular room with two Skuttler statues, a glowing, evil-looking, automatic door, and a blue switch.

Skuttlers are the most common and weak of grunts in the Underworld Army, at least on land. The have completely purple torsos with short, stubby limbs and large skulls with only one red eye and a crossbones symbol on their foreheads.

Pit slashed the switch, activating it. He then walked up to the door, which opened into a small room with a square hole near the back wall that led into the great hall. A Monoeye popped up, but it was quickly dispatched by a downward slash. Pit hopped down the hole, landing on a purple-ish red carpet that led up to a treasure box and had two metal lampposts next to it. At both walls, a curved staircase led to the second floor. A bridge above and behind Pit allowed quick access to two switches, and on the front wall at the top of the staircase in front of Pit was another door exactly like the one in the previous room.

Two Skuttlers with cannons guarded the treasure box, but Pit dispatched them with charged shots, easily evading their slow fire. "This must be the great hall," he observed as he walked over and opened the treasure box, receiving an Impact Amplifier power up.

" _At the top of the stairs, there's a door with switches across from it."_

"Switches, huh?" Pit replied as he dashed up the stairs. "That probably means I should hit them!"

" _Very….perceptive of you, Pit."_

At the top of the stairs, Pit turned right and decided to get the switch to his left first. Unfortunately, in his way was a Boogity. Boogities are-

"They know!" Pit interrupted.

….What?

"You don't have to describe ALL the enemies, author! Everyone reading this already played the game!"

Maybe most readers, but not all-

"Oh come on! Who would be browsing the Kid Icarus section of Fanfiction without having played Uprising?"

Well, some people probably decided to check out my other stories after seeing Pokemon: Black and White or Weapon Master.

"They can still look them up!"

What kind of author makes their readers look up mystical creatures when writing a fantasy novel?

"Huh?"

Have you ever read a real, original novel where the author said "just look it up" instead of describing whatever mystical creatures they thought up?

"But fanfiction is different!"

Good description is the mark of a good- or at least, decent, book, fanfic or no.

"You didn't describe me or Lady Palutena."

Because you two already show up in the prequel book and I'm TRYING to make sure I don't have to make a million edits when Twilight Embrace is written and released!

"But you described yourself and your stuff."

Because this is the first book released publically and I had to! I'll make appropriate edits in the future, or I can just leave it as is in case this ends up being someone's first read in the series when the other book is out. Can we just get back to the story?

"But-"

No.

"Ugh, fine!"

Ahem, Boogities are basically small goblins with larger arms and hands than legs and feet which have large metal backsides that are basically shields from any and every attack. Their front is vulnerable, though, and they have to reveal their faces to attack.

Pit slowly got closer to the Boogity while its back was turned, and when it whirled around to fire, he dashed forth and fired a charged shot into its face, destroying it. Then, he ran up and slashed the switch for the door and walked up to the bridge. He walked halfway across before ducking and sliding under a Monolith, which is basically a floating blue square that flips around or acts as platforms for grounded Underworld troops, and then fired at the Coral and Skuttler guarding the other switch. Corals are literally pieces of coral with mouths that break apart when attacked and shoot towards someone who shoots them, but fly in the opposite direction if hit by a melee attack.

Once those two were dispatched, he struck the second switch, unlocking the door and spawning a large, cyclops skull with four spider legs. _"The door is unlocked now. The enemy with the big skull guarding the door is a Ganewmede. They'll attack when fired at, but they don't do much at all if you don't shoot them. So I suggest using melee attacks or dash shots to take them down,"_ Palutena explained as Pit ran over to the door, and, upon hearing her suggestion, slashed through the Ganewmede, instantly defeating it. That done, he went through the door and found himself on the upper level of the interior garden.

From where he stood, to his left was a path to a bridge in the center of the room that connected his side of the upper level to another side, both of which had spiky railing keeping one from simply falling over the edge. Even more to the left was a Skuttler holding a cannon guarding a door. _"I'm sensing treasure somewhere to your left."_ Palutena stated.

"How do you know that?" Pit asked, dashing over to the door and dispatching the Skuttler with a powerful slash.

" _From the heavens, I can see through your laurel crown to divine your surroundings!"_ Palutena replied in a mystical tone.

"Really? That's amazing!" Pit exclaimed as he walked through the door into a new room. It was a somewhat fancy room, with eight statues around it. Two near the door he entered by, as well as across the room in front of where it led off to the right somewhere, were statues of humans, both sets in pairs directly across from each other, like a stone staring contest. Between those four statues were another four arranged like them, but instead of people, they were Skuttlers. In the center of the room was a treasure box.

" _And that's not all I can see, Pit. I can also see what's in your heart."_

This made Pit pause a moment. _'I hope she doesn't know about my plan to steal some cake….'_ "Oh…heh heh…That's really….something…" Pit hesitantly said.

" _So you'd better not be thinking about anything….naughty!"_

"What?! How did you-?!"

" _Just kidding! Seriously, reading hearts through laurel crowns?"_

"I know…I was….also kidding…"

" _Sure you were…"_

After recovering from that conversation, Pit walked over to the treasure box to get….nothing. It was a trap, he quickly realized, dodging purple beams as the Skuttler statues came to life and a purple fire blocked both the door and the hallway at the far end of the room. The trap box vanished as Pit charged and slashed through one of the Skuttlers, destroying it. Then, another fired at him, but he jumped aside and fired back, rolling on his shoulder and getting back to his feet quickly. The Skuttler was destroyed by the blast, and Pit quickly used the rapid fire function to destroy the third Skuttler. The final one took aim, but he dashed forth and slashed it into oblivion before it could fire.

As the barriers of fire died out, Pit walked to the back of the room to find a small area with four statues of people and two treasure boxes. He opened them both and received two weapons: An Insight Staff and a Fortune Bow. He immediately put away his First Blade and switched to the Fortune Bow. "Hey, how come you aren't describing these weapons?" Pit asked.

Because the Insight Staff is ridiculous!

" _Seriously? That's it?"_

You know what? Fine! The Insight Staff's handle had a golden wing at the end that curved down, which shaped it more like a two-handed gun, a silver spike on the end that shots come from, which is never used, a silver lining thing on the handle like a katana handle, a pointless silver hook where you'd expect a scope seeing as it's a sniping weapon, a short brown part with a strange red stripe going around it at the ends, a small golden wing on the center of the shaft, and a small part that sticks out directly across from the useless hook which is presumable the trigger. Are you happy now, guys?!

" _And the Fortune Bow?"_

Ugh! At least it's somewhat less ridiculous….The Fortune Bow has a black handle with two small parts that stick out the front, and silver blades that are a bit wavy in the back with a pink, jagged stripe through the center. Actually, it's a lot less ridiculous. I'm NEVER forgiving the designers of the Insight Staff!

"Hang on, don't you have more complex descriptions in the unreleased ML(Emeral)-"

No! No I do not! I make everything up on the fly!

" _You do realize that makes you sound worse than the reality does, right?"_

They still don't need to be spoiled on that! We are done talking about this! Let's get back to the story already!

" _Alright, alright, we'll stop."_

Thank you!

Pit walked back around the corner, but found his exit blocked by a Splin and Specknose. Splins are basically giant shurikens made of bubbly green Jell-O with a single red eye that has a reptilian slit in it. Splins can split apart and fling themselves at foes, rotating rapidly to deal slash damage. Specknoses are giant noses with ridiculous eyes that look like they wear glasses and they deal damage by sneezing or launching bombs from their nostrils.

Pit immediately dispatched the Splin with a charged blast from his bow, and quickly returned the Specknose's bombs by splitting the bow at the center of the handle and slashing with it. Once they were gone, the purple firewall vanished and Pit was free to move on. He returned to the interior garden and crossed the bridge, dispatching some Shernums and destroying the jar spawning them before heading down some stairs. _"You're heading to the lower level of the interior garden,"_ Palutena stated as Pit shot a Skuttler waiting at the end of the staircase. Once he got near a tapestry on the wall at the end of the stairs, Palutena spoke again; _"Wait. I'm sensing treasure again…Pit, try going behind that tapestry,"_ she instructed. Pit walked up to it…and it vanished as he walked through it and found a strange blue circle of light and runes that had a symbol of a bow above it.

"What is this, Lady Palutena?" he asked, walking into the center…and suddenly warping to a black void with a single, blue, circular platform in it, the angel himself landing on a small walkway in front of the same light circle that warped him there.

" _A Zodiac Chamber…Pit, head over to that spotlight,"_ she replied. He dashed over to the other platform and saw a sparkling ball of light descent to the center of it, which then materialized as a bow bearing the star sign of Sagittarius. _"I'll tell you more later. For now, put it away and resume your mission."_

"Alright…" Pit replied, running back to the warping light and soon finding himself back behind the tapestry. He ran back through it and down some more stairs, only to skid to a stop as he was greeted by an astonishing sight. "Look at that!"

A muscular human man, dressed mostly in black with dark skin and shoulder-length black hair, was holding his own against the Underworld army. Pit watched as this man, probably in his thirties or forties, swung a behemoth of a sword that was a big as himself and slashed through a Skuttler and a Shernum, before simply _kicking_ away another Skuttler. _"How did a_ _human_ _make it into the castle?!"_

The man had black pants and a sleeveless black shirt that left a bit of his chest uncovered, as well as dark brown boots. Both his forearms, as well as his right bicep, were wrapped in white cloth, and his left arm bore a notably large, red tattoo that extended even up to his neck. Speaking of his neck, there was necklace around it with some stones on it, and attached to his shirt was a sheathed dagger, though why he'd need such a thing when he clearly had a much better weapon in his absurd sword was a mystery. Overall, he had, for some reason, nine belts. Three on his chest and three on each leg. The current wave of Underworld troops dispatched, the man turned around, slinging his weapon over his shoulder, and noticed Pit. "Well, I didn't expect to see an angel here," he said, his voice deep. He rubbed his head before letting his blade hit the ground while still in his grip. "Hope this doesn't mean I've kicked the bucket."

" _I think you should help him,"_ Palutena said as a second wave of enemies showed up, Pit too busy being awed by the human before him, who had already started slashing through monsters.

"He's taking on the Underworld Army himself…and surviving!" Pit said. "Are you sure this guy is really a human?"

" _Absolutely."_

"You having a private conversation with yourself, angel face?" The man interrupted, kicking a Shernum. His words snapped Pit back to reality, and the angel split his bow to slash another Shernum that got too close.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that," Pit replied, putting his bow back together and shooting a Monoeye. "I'm Pit, servant of the goddess Palutena!" he continued, slashing a toxic fungus with legs called a Shulm.

"So, you're here for a slice of the pie too?" the man asked, bringing his sword down on a Specknose.

"Huh? Pie? Where? No, I mean… I'm here to defend the humans from the brutality of the Underworld Army." Pit replied, splitting his bow again to attack a Keron, slashing left with the right blade, right with the left blade in a reverse grip, and then bringing both blades down in a proper grip on the cyclops frog and killing it, before quickly putting his bow back together.

"Sure, sure, you're the angel here, but me? I'm in it for the reward money," the man said, cleaving a Skuttler in two with a slash directed left. "Since we both want to take down Gaol, how about we work together?"

"I don't know about that," Pit said, shooting another Skuttler with three light arrows.

"What have you got to lose? It'll be easier on both of us."

"Lady Palutena…what do you think?"

" _He makes a compelling argument."_

"All right, then. Resuming mission Dark-Lord Suppression!"

"I'm Magnus by the way, pleased to meet you. Don't hit me, and we'll get along just fine."

The two resumed fighting, teaming up to slash a Ganewmede dead and generally making quick work of most of the monsters. Magnus distracted a Boogity and Pit blasted it while it focused on protecting itself from Magnus, and then Pit shot down some more Miks. Eventually, they finally finished off the last of the monsters.

"I'll follow your lead from here," Magnus said as the purple firewall vanished. "I've got your back." Pit ran over to a treasure box that had appeared, opening it to receive a new power that he would check out later. The two hopped down a square hole into a cavern of sorts and encountered a group of Miks that also had a Fire Wyrm. Fire Wyrms are oversized flying bone serpents with insectoid heads that also spout flames from their backs and generally use ramming attacks.

Pit blasted the Miks easily enough, and Magnus took care of the Fire Wyrm by heaving his giant blade above his head and charging, countering and bisecting the bone 'dragon' as it attempted to ram him. "Magnus sure is strong," Pit couldn't help commenting.

" _Yes, especially for a human."_

"He must really want that reward."

" _He may not be made of the sturdiest moral fiber, but that's fine with me."_

"I'm surprised you feel that way."

" _Humans are driven by desire,"_ Palutena said, the duo having made their way through the cavern and now in a large room with a cage elevator. _"It's convenient to know what bait they'll chase."_

"That's kinda cold, but it makes sense….I guess," Pit hesitantly replied, not used to Palutena talking about humans that way. "Actually, what about Shane?" he asked as purple firewalls trapped them in the room for a brawl with several Skuttlers, Specknoses, a Shildeen- basically, a small blue humanoid alien-looking barrier maker- and some Shulms.

" _His desire is helping out with the powers he has. Desire doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it's not always a good thing either. Greed is desire gone horribly wrong, when a person wants too much more than they can or should have."_

"Hey," Magnus interrupted, "If you're chatting with your precious goddess, give her a message from me. Tell her she's been sleeping on the job! My world is on the edge of collapse!"

" _I take it back, this guy's a jerk."_

"Oh…kay…" Pit awkwardly said, shooting a marble near the cage lift that launched several purple blasts around the room, decimating the Underworld troops. Pit and Magnus cleared the stragglers and got on the lift. At the top, they noticed a door immediately on their right with a fancy carpet like the one back in the great hall leading from it to a part of the castle exterior. The two entered the door and were greeted with a sight that made Pit's heart soar. "Wait, is this….Ha! It is!" he exclaimed, diving into the golden, steamy pool with glee. "A hot spring!"

"Apparently someone likes his spa time," Magnus noted, sticking his oversized sword into the ground and leaning on it with his other hand on his hip as he waited for Pit.

"Ahh….Now that's what I'm talking about!" Pit sighed as the spring's healing properties kicked in.

"You go in fully dressed?" Magnus questioned. "Don't you at least want to change into a…swimming tunic or something?"

"Oh, no no no! The angel's code of conduct says that we must always be ready for duty!" Pit replied, standing back up.

"I guess you wouldn't be an angel if you didn't do things by the book."

"Yeah…and I don't wanna steam the sacred-"

"We're done talking about this," Magnus intercepted, resuming his normal stance and walking out.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Pit cried, running out after him with full health. Upon meeting up, the two followed the carpet to a square-shaped, open area of the roof of the castle. The carpet turned at a right angle at the corner, leading straight to a treasure box sitting out on the open roof for anyone to pop open. "Yeah! A treasure box!" Pit cheered.

"That's clearly a trap," Magnus stated as Pit ran over to it. "Think about it. Who would leave treasure just lying around outside?"

"Actually- Oh," Pit started, the treasure box opening on its own when he was close enough and trapping them there via purple firewall.

"What is wrong with you?!" Magnus asked, annoyed.

"If there's a treasure box, I open it! I can't help it! Besides, I've opened plenty of treasure boxes just lying around before and gotten treasure!"

"Okay, we'll see how long you survive with that strategy!"

A Belunka barfed up a Specknose and Shulm, which Magnus went after, while Pit fired at the Belunka with his Fortune Bow. Magnus performed a rising swing with his blade, sending the Specknose flying into a wall, which it bounced off of. It fell to the ground, and he finished it with a downward slashed that bisected it. Then, he ran over to the Shulm and kicked it away while Pit continued firing on the Belunka. Unfortunately, it simply kept spawning more and more enemies without losing much health. It had opened its mouth to spawn even more enemies, when suddenly, a Smart Bomb flew into the mouth and detonated, obliterating it.

* * *

I flew over Pit and Magnus, then back flipped off of Winged Star as it rammed into a Skuttler, impaling it, and then hit the wall. It exploded in a star-shaped pattern of miniature, light Winged Stars before flying back to me. I caught it in my hand while crouched on one knee, and held it up between my left index and middle fingers while doing a stereotypical ninja pose- that two-fingers-in-front-of-face thing you always see in the less serious/realistic depictions, and then put it away. I stood up and waved. "Hey guys!" I called, walking over as another wave of enemies showed up, consisting of Monoeyes, Skuttlers, and some more Shulms. Noticing this as we met, the three of us quickly went back-to-back, facing the enemies.

"So, what happened with the human army, Shane?" Pit asked as he fired at the Monoeyes.

"Once they saw the two of us flying over, the guy in charge called for a retreat. I held back Underworld Troops until they got to a safe distance," I replied, before charging through some Skuttlers. "Luckily, there weren't too many casualties."

"And who exactly are you?" Magnus asked after delivering a jumping kick to a Shulm.

"My name is Shane. I also serve the goddess Palutena," I stated, blocking a shot from a Monoeye and jumping at it with a downward slash.

"I'm Magnus," Magnus replied, cleaving through two Skuttlers at once. "So you're with angel face?"

"Yep."

Pit finished off the Monoeyes while Magnus and I cut the Skuttlers and Shulms down to size, ending the ambush and dissipating the barrier. Pit took the lead as we walked back to a door beside the carpet path. Walking through brought us to a spiraling path on the walls. "It looks like a long way up…." Pit complained as we encountered a Boogity floating over the void in the center of the room and a Handora- small, blue hands with small forearms and a single red eye that shoots projectiles- appeared on the path.

"What, your legs not work or something?" Magnus asked, charging at the Handora and bringing it down in one kick.

"It's not that far," I said, throwing my boomerang so it flew around the Boogity and dispatched it before it could do anything. We dashed up the path until a Shildeen appeared, its barrier preventing progress and protecting a Skuttler Cannoneer. Together we made quick work of the barrier, though I had to block a shot from the Skuttler when the barrier went down, and the two monsters were easily dispatched by running slashes before we continued. Not two seconds later, a Porcuspine and another Handora spawned, but with the three of us, they were gone before anything could happen.

"I think we're closing in on Gaol's lair," Pit said, presumably sensing his darkness.

"I hope you're ready," Magnus said. I stayed quiet as we walked up the path and through the door to Gaol's throne room.

The room was large and very dark, rectangular, and at our feet was another carpet that led all the way up to the large, intimidating throne. Sitting on said throne was our target, who promptly stood up. The best way to describe Dark Lord Gaol would be "demon knight". His armor was purple and red, with many spikes and a helmet with larrge, curved horns. Said armor covered everything but a pair of glowing, lime green eyes. The armor also had a red cape with a pattern consisting of many eyes, making their Underworld allegiance quite clear.

"Prepare for defeat, Dark Lord Gaol!" Pit proclaimed.

"It's checkmate for you!" I added, making my stance fiercer. Oh, I should probably go over that. My stance is pretty much the same one Link usually takes in Smash and Soul Calibur; Shield in front, body at a bit of an angle, legs spread, sword back.

 **"Aw, Palutena's little messenger boys!"** Gaol responded, his voice distorted and demonic. **"And Magnus, it's always a pleasure!"**

"Sorry I'm late," Magnus said, slamming his sword down before resuming his stance, "I had other business to attend to!"

"Wait, you two know each other?!" Pit asked in confusion, looking between the two before focusing on Gaol.

Gaol opened the fight by launching himself at us while surrounded by electricity of some kind, which the other two dodged while I blocked, stopping him in his tracks, though not without effort and a bit of lost ground. Magnus kicked him before he could break through my defense and Pit started firing with his Fortune Bow.

" **It's so typical of you to pawn off your work on someone else,"** Gaol said to Magnus at the two began clashing.

"Hey, in this economy, everyone's looking for work. Even part-time work," Magnus replied, slamming his sword into Gaol from the left. I tried a jump-slash, but Gaol put up a barrier at the last second, blasting me back and protecting himself from further assaults before quickly spinning to knock Magnus back.

" **That's funny. Business is booming for me. We're even hiring more staff!"** Gaol replied, summoning two Skuttlers as we humans returned to our feet, Pit getting closer and spinning his bow at high speeds to rapidly slash Gaol, who sent a purple wave of energy across the ground to knock him back and repeatedly deal damage.

"Huh, are these the new hires?" Magnus asked, instantly defeating both Skuttlers with a single slash to his left.

Pit recovered while I threw my boomerang at Gaol, who simply blasted it away and left me without a shield. Gaol summoned more Skuttlers and had them guard my lost weapon. I growled at this and put away my blade, backing away.

" _I don't know much about the situation,"_ Came Palutena's telepathic voice, _"but it seems Magnus and Gaol used to be close friends."_

"What?! Seriously?" Pit asked in disbelief as Magnus and Gaol slashed at each other.

" _They were part of the same band of monster-fighting mercenaries. But Gaol's heart was weak and he couldn't resist the temptation of the Underworld."_

"Seeing them fighting, it's hard to believe they were ever friends!"

" _Magnus knows only one way to fight: Ferociously. Perhaps his fire is fueled by the child he lost to underworld forces."_

"I had no idea! That's so sad…" Pit said, just before Magnus was launched back beside him.

"Hey, enough chit-chat! We need to concentrate here!" he said after getting back up.

" **Feeling a little agitated, Magnus?"**

"Don't make me laugh, 'dark lord'!" Magnus responded, he and Pit resuming their stances. "Now put on some pants and fight like a man!"

The two charged at Gaol, but the dark lord was prepared, charging shortly before slamming his hands into the ground and creating a shockwave that blasted the two away and nearly broke my focus. I was almost done….My allies recovered before they hit the ground, springing on their hands to land on their feet. Pit dash forward and fired a charged shot from his bow that hit its mark, but Gaol was still able to continue. He fired a large beam from his hands, turning to pursue Magnus, who continued to evade. He was almost to me, when…..

"How's this?!" I yelled, finally ready. Once every directed their attention to me, I fired a huge wave of aura in a move called 'Aura Storm'. It blasted Gaol and the Skuttlers, dispatching the grunts, while Pit and Magnus leapt aside. Once it ended, I dropped to one knee as Gaol roared in defeat.

"Dark Lord suppressed!" Pit exclaimed as Gaol's armor lost its glow and became faded.

"Nice work angel face, emerald boy!" Magnus said as Gaol stumbled around, a purple energy seemingly draining from his armor. When Gaol fell, the armor around _her_ head and arms broke off, revealing a blonde-haired human woman. Magnus walked up to her and stuck his sword in the ground, kneeling beside her. "I'm sorry it had to come this…" he said, his tone remorseful.

"Gaol was a human?! I-I didn't know…what have I done….?" Pit sorrowfully said. I walked….Well, 'stumbled' is probably a better word, considering how I was after that blast. It was rather short, but it still drained me. Anyway, I made my way over to Magnus and Gaol, an idea in my mind.

" _You can't feel bad. Just think of all the other people you've saved,"_ Palutena assured him. _"Besides, she looks like she's still holding on."_

"Really?!" Pit asked, about to run over when the light shined upon him and levitated him.

" _But we need to regroup. The war against Medusa is just starting."_ She continued as she extracted him and started to extract me.

"Wait," I said, causing the glow to fade for a moment. I turned to Gaol and pulled out a Heart Container I'd kept for something like this. Actually, I'd kept a few Smash items with me when I ended up in Skyworld…anyway; I carefully pulled out a Heart Container and made Gaol's body absorb it. "She'll live," I said. "And this guarantees it." It was then that I was extracted.

* * *

"You know, that might end up costing you a future battle," Palutena said once I was back in the temple. I nodded.

"I'm aware."

"And you still did it?"

"Of course. So, I really am part of your forces now?"

She paused for a moment. "…Yes."

* * *

 **Chapter complete! Accomplishments and treasure:**

 **Fortune Bow**

 **Insight Staff**

 **Sagittarius Bow**

 **Reflect Barrier Lv.1 Power**

 **Ridiculous length second chapter achieved!**

 **-Continue-**

 **Well! I hope this is more satisfactory than the previous chapter. Oh yeah, once this uploads, I'm going to add a special scene to Chapter 1. Please reread it if you read it before this chapter uploaded: You'll find some spelling and grammar improvements as well. Chapter three coming in seven days!**


	3. Chapter 3: Heads of the Hewdraw

**Music: "Such bonds are the true strength of this army." (Fire Emblem: Awakening)**

Directly after the defeat- and subsequent survival guarantee- of Dark Lord Gaol, I had decided to spend the rest of my night in the Practice Room. I'd finished going back over my ground moves from my previous adventure when Pit walked up. "Hey, Shane, what are you doing?" He asked. I put away my weapons and turned to him before responding.

"Oh, hi Pit," I replied. "I was just testing out my moves."

"…..With this music?"

I instantly facefaulted.

 **Music: "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" (Fire Emblem Awakening)**

"Pit, I was trying to set up an interesting Support Conversation intro before the meat of the chapter!" I exclaimed, getting back up. "Ugh, what is with you guys and destroying moments with your fourth wall breaking?"

"Uh….sorry?"

I sighed. "So, ignoring the shattered remains of the fourth wall, what's up?"

 **Music: "Such bonds are the true strength of this army." (Fire Emblem: Awakening)**

"And before anything else is said, no, there will not be more rapid music switches like this. …As long as a certain someone avoids the fourth wall a bit better!" I explained.

"I said 'sorry'!" Pit replied. "Anyway, I was wondering; after everything you did in your last adventure, how come you tired out so quickly last time?"

"Oh, that?" I asked, putting my hand on my chin. "I'm honestly not sure."

"I was just thinking," Pit began, "Cause after that final display, you'd think it'd take more to exhaust you."

My arms returned to my sides as I replied. "Let's not forget that that was a seriously huge fight. With everything happening, my emotions ran wild. You know what that meant." Then, I turned away and started thinking again while speaking. "Though, I'm not sure I still have that power now."

"But you can still do other things, like that Aura Storm move."

"Don't forget, this is a whole different game from Smash," I reminded, before turning around and slashing through the dummy Monoeye to instantly dispatch and replace it. "I can't just make assumptions about my powers. Maybe if I get a safe chance during the main part of a chapter, I'll try out my abilities in battle, but for now I have to be careful."

"If you say so…"

 **Shane and Pit reached Support Level C!**

* * *

 **So, these are things. Yeah, spoiler alert, this isn't a simple one-off gag. You know why? Because it's more interesting than just the game chapters. After all, it would get boring if there was only the stuff in the game itself in here, and I can't simply allow the first released book of my biggest series to be a boring, plain, simple ol' novelization, now can I?**

 **Just a small note here, I'm often going back and editing chapters past when I think of a new scene or realize I forgot something I intended to add. Always go back and check through previous chapters when I upload a new one. Usually I won't make more than one or two huge edits, often just some spelling or grammar corrections, or some bigger but still small changes based of constructive criticism. Speaking of, constructive criticism is highly appreciated.**

 **There are two Smash Bros. references last chapter. My pose after killing the Belunka is basically a crouching variation of Corrin/Kamui's normal stance in Fire Emblem Fates and Smash. Also, Magnus' pose while waiting on Pit in the hot spring is identical to Cloud's down taunt.**

* * *

"Hurry, Pit!" Lady Palutena exclaimed, Pit's wings alighting as he jumped out the door with his Fortune Bow in hand.

"What's the matter?" Pit asked, seeing a Moneye, Mik, and Syren fly by…and get quickly dispatched by a charged shot that pierced all three.

" _Medusa has brought the fight to our realm. Her forces are invading Skyworld!"_ she replied as I flew up next to Pit.

"Just out to enjoy the sky on Winged Star and next thing I know, there's a bunch of Underworld troops shooting at me," I explained, irritated from having my nice little flight ruined. "I retrieved the Insight Staff you got in the last chapter, do you want it?" I asked, holding it in my left hand as I prepared my Aura Blade in the other.

"No thanks!" Pit replied, shooting the Monoeyes and Miks in front of us down. "I prefer my bow!"

"Alright," I said, switching my grip on the staff and using it to shoot at some Syrens before us myself.

"Medusa must be getting back at us for defeating Dark Lord Gaol," Pit guessed, blasting a Souflee and getting a large quantity of hearts from it. Souflees basically look like soufflés with a cutesy face on them. That face is actually false though, and the red 'cherry' on their heads is actually their eye. They use their fake face to make enemies not want to hurt them, since they're pretty weak, even if fast.

" _Her venom knows no bounds, but I know you two can stop her Underworld Army!"_ Lady Palutena encouraged.

"You sure have a lot of faith in us, Lady Palutena…." Pit replied as we flew on, shooting a Specknose and a group of Monoeyes.

" _If you're struggling with a group of enemies, you can use a Special Attack,"_ she began explaining. _"Just aim your weapon carefully and focus your power. Make sure not to use too many too quickly, as they can wear down on your stamina. As a bonus, all Special Attacks automatically cancel enemy fire the second they're engaged,_ _and_ _prevent_ _more_ _fire for the duration."_

Pit immediately turned his aim skyward and fired, sending a rain of death upon the enemy group in front of us, which consisted of mostly Monoeyes, a Syren, a Treasurefish, and a Komayto, which look and act like Metroids, which are basically alien jellyfish that are also brain suckers. A Happy Trigger power up flew into Pit once the Treasurefish expired.

We shot down about four Syrens as we continued, then fired at a group of Monoeyes and Daphnes. Daphnes are orange flower monsters with two leaves on their short stem that "bloom", aim at you, and then fire explosives. The faces on the outside are false, and their true face is rather unnerving. Once they were done, we flew past where they were and shot down some Monoeyes to find a Belunka straight ahead.

"Don't these guys ever get tired?" Pit complained as we flew up to it.

"I don't have enough skill or raw power to take care of so many enemies in a manner at all timely…" I added as the Belunka began spawning more flying enemies. I charged and fired the Insight Staff's Special Attack, a single, large, powerful, piercing blast, directly into the Belunka's open mouth, instantly killing it and the troops it intended to throw up before we could even see them.

" _At this rate, the Power of Flight and you two are going to expire before they do."_

"Then let's go after the commander!" Pit suggested, shooting down another Souflee.

" _There's just one thing you should know; their commander is Hewdraw."_

"Hewdraw?" Pit parroted, an image of an eight-bit evil-looking blue serpent appearing in front of us both. It was thankfully transparent. "Like, this guy?"

" _And speak of the devil—There he is!"_ Lady Palutena pointed out, the eight-bit image vanishing as we caught sight of the flying Sea Serpent himself. Kinda looked like he had three heads….

"He can fly?!" Pit asked in shock and envy.

" _I think the only one who can't fly by himself is you,"_

"Actually," I interrupted before Pit could reply. "I can't fly on my own either. If the Winged Star got destroyed, I'd be stuck on the ground myself."

" _Right, which is exactly why you haphazardly crashed it through a Skuttler in the previous chapter,"_

"There's certain special rules pertaining me and my vehicle, okay? It crashes, it shrinks. An enemy attack obliterates it, and it's straight up gone."

" _Anyway, Pit's right. Attacking the leader is a good plan!"_ Lady Palutena finished, granting speed to Pit's wings as we flew at the flying serpent.

"Let's do it!" Pit cheered, shooting down a pair of Specknoses while I slashed through a pair of Coral to send them blasting through some Monoeyes and Paramush. Paramush are fungi-looking monsters that have a single blue eye that they fire from and two legs. They use their caps as parachutes in the air and abandon them on the ground. A little farther and we destroyed two Syrens and two more Corals, the latter of which I slashed apart to send into the Monoeyes and Miks behind them.

After blasting our way through more monsters, we finally found ourselves close enough to interact with Hewdraw. Pit flew directly in front of the Hewdraw's three heads.

"Hello there!" The blue one to the serpent's right greeted in a deep, beastial voice.

"It's snack time!" the purple one in the middle proclaimed, having a slight British accent.

"Mm! What tender little morsels!" the red head said as I flew up in front of them, following Pit.

"We are NOT pieces of meat!" Pit yelled.

"What did you say?" Red asked.

"Technically you _are_!" Purple stated.

"Just come a little closer…" Blue 'invited' as we began flying under their body.

"Get ready," Pit began, "cause it's time for-"

"Tobonahstompching-descarnage!" The Hewdraws interrupted simultaneously, their respective words impossible to decode except for Blue's 'carnage'.

Everyone paused as Pit and I came back up behind the Hewdraws and began flying over them. I lowered myself to run along their back, slashing back and forth while holding on to Winged Star's right wing as the argument began anew.

"It was my turn to have the last word!"

"Oh give it a rest!"

"Let's not argue in front of company!"

"Cram a sock in it, foot-face!"

"I am soooo sick of you guys!"

"Me?! What did I do?!"

"Knock it off already!"

My attacks didn't seem to do much, if anything. They didn't stop arguing even as I tried to cut into their back!

"YOU knock it off!"

"I can't believe this is my life…"

"Can we go home and watch TV now?"

"Would everyone just shut it?!"

"Someone put me out of my misery."

"Did I mention I'm starving?"

"And you think we're not?!"

The arguing became impossible to discern after that. I think someone pressed the Fast Forward button, 'cause those dragons were talking at supersonic speeds! I jumped back on to Winged Star when I reached their necks, positive I couldn't scratched them from above.

"Um….Now what?" Pit asked as we flew in front of the Hewdraws once more.

" _This is never going to end. Just go ahead and attack!"_ Lady Palutena suggested. Pit and I looked at each other and shrugged, each with a sweatdrop, then fired our respective charged shots at the heads.

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP, AND FOCUS!" The Hewdraws shouted together, snapping back to reality.

The blue one began charging a fire blast as the red retaliated with a crescent-shaped beam by slashing with his horn and the purple fired some eye blasts. I focused my fire on the blue one while Pit evaded the attacks from the other two, though I couldn't stop the fire blast. Pit managed to get out of the way, but I took the brunt of the blast. Thankfully, Winged Star wasn't damaged greatly, so I was still in the air.

I stumbled a bit on my ride, grunting in pain from the small flames still burning me, though I managed to keep my balance and crouched on one knee to steady myself better. After a moment, the flames died down, and I glared at the Hewdraw, rage overtaking whatever pain I felt. I charged a boost and blasted forward, diving under the purple head before swiftly pulling upwards and slicing the head clean off in a slash far stronger than before.

Suddenly, we heard Lady Palutena gasp. _"The Underworld Army is targeting my temple!"_

"You've got to be kidding!" I shouted as I facepalmed. An annoyed sigh became a groan as my frustration built up. "I've got it!" I volunteered, rolling my eyes and changing course for the temple.

* * *

 _"While Shane keeps the Underwolrd off of me,_ _I'll be readying my Palutena Glam Blaster for deployment!"_ She announced. _"Once preparations are complete, I will launch an attack!"_

"You don't have to do that!" Pit insisted. "Let _me_ handle it!" He then refocused on the Hewdraws as the red head began charging for a powerful laser while the blue sent another horn-launched wave attack at him. Pit spun out of the way of the attack and fired a charged shot at the charging head, and then launched his Special Attack at them. The beam fired, but he managed to evade and fly in close enough to decapitate the red head with a slash.

"Oh! I'm the only one left!" The remaining blue head exclaimed.

"Actually, I'd say you're the only one _right_!" Pit quipped. Silence followed. "…..Get it? Right?"

"No biggie," Hewdraw replied, surprisingly calm. "In fact, I feel _great_ losing all that dead weight!"

It fired another horn-wave. Pit quickly spun out of the way and fired a charged shot. _"Okay, charging complete!"_ Lady Palutena announced. _"The Sacred Goddess Clobberlaser is now ready for deployment!"_

"Wait, I thought it was a Glam-" Pit didn't have time to finish his sentence before a giant beam of light enveloped Hewdraw. Pit screamed and flew away from the enormous attack as it roasted the Hewdraw until it was black. The giant serpent flipped over, fell, and exploded as Pit regained his bearings. "You could've obliterated me!"

" _Oh…do you think I… overdid it?"_ she sheepishly asked.

" _I'd say so! I saw that from here!"_

"Well, I guess that's that," Pit said, somewhat unsure.

" _I'm afraid not. Hewdraw heads can live without a body, you'd both better go after them!"_

" _On my way!"_

* * *

I saw Pit go into a dive from the distance and instantly began charging a boost, making my machine fall below the clouds. Once I saw him, I blasted off towards him, slashing through Underworld troops as I went. _"The Underworld forces are retreating!"_ Lady Palutena announced.

" _Mission accomplished!"_

" _Far from it. Those two Hewdraw heads are still alive. They've plunged into the human world below and taken their legion with them."_

" _Then we'd better do something!"_

I finally caught up to Pit as he suddenly ceased his descent and began looking around, shooting down Underworld troops as he searched for the Hewdraw heads. We were above a grassy plain surrounded by some hills. I flew up to Pit and started blasting the enemies he missed with my Insight Staff. "This is bad…." I heard him say. I turned around and saw him looking at a distant town. Using the staff's special zoom function- which was, oddly, granted by the hook- I saw the two heads gleefully bouncing around and wreaking havoc on the place.

We began flying to the town, Lady Palutena increasing Pit's speed as she spoke; _"Let's hurry. For a pair of disembodied heads, they sure move fast!"_

We reach the town in a matter of seconds, though not without blasting and slashing some Underworld troops, and flew above it to get an aerial view. Unfortunately, the heads seemed to have just vanished! I even checked through the Insight Staff's zoom feature again to make sure, and I couldn't see them at all. "I don't see the Hewdraw heads anywhere! Where'd they go?!" Pit asked, beginning to panic.

" _Don't lose YOUR head too, Pit. Let's check the town."_

"I'll stick around up here to look for the heads and lend you support from above," I said, flying lower but still a few feet above the tallest building of the town as Pit flew over the town gate.

"Hoo-hoooo-yah!"

* * *

Pit landed and quickly looked around to assess the damage. The town was burning, and it certainly wasn't a quick repair job, but it was still intact enough for the people to continue living as normal in a short time once the Underworld was repelled. "The people have all gone into hiding, but where did those Hewdraw heads go?" he asked.

" _They could be anywhere. We need to stop them before they wreak even more havoc!"_ Palutena replied. _"As you search for them, make sure to take out any Underworld troops that cross your path."_

Pit noticed he was on a road, but the path ahead of him was blocked by rubble. Some Monoeyes descended and flew over to his right, showing him an alleyway he could use to continue. With that, he fired his bow, quickly dispatching them. As he walked down the alley, a Gyrazer came from his left, firing its laser, but it was quickly dispatched by a forward-dash shot. Reaching the end of the alley, he hopped down a low ledge and immediately evaded the blasts from a pair of Commyloose floating above one another. Commyloose are basically floating squid with six tentacles, two of which were bigger than the rest, with two eyes, and no mouth. They fire explosives.

Pit shot them both down, noticing that he was in a small, rectangular area. To his right was a small staircase in front of a gate, and at the other side was a stairway sideways to him. He went to the smaller stairway first, through the gate. _"That way leads back to where you started,"_ Palutena stated as Pit walked through a narrow path the led to a ledge a few feet above where he started. He went around a corner to his right to find a Treasure Box that gave him a pair of Standard Orbitars.

The Standard Orbitars are a pair of floating blue spheres with mystical swirls in them, like how a galaxy is often depicted in fiction when see from far enough away, that were encased in metal coverings that left only the back and front of the orbs visible. "Sweet, sweet loot!" Pit cheered, picking them up.

" _Fortune smiles upon you!"_ Palutena added as he turned around and blasted a Souflee directly behind him, getting plenty of hearts from it. 'hearts' are basically divine currency.

"Nice! I can really turn a profit taking those guys down!"

" _That was a Souflee. It's one sweet enemy. If you spot one, do everything you can to stop it from getting away."_

Pit walked back to the courtyard and continued up the larger stairs, taking out a Daphne along the way. In a small courtyard area, he found himself facing a Stackjaw. Stackjaws are basically living totem poles with green brains, two eyes, a weirdly human mouth, and four heads/segments. Also, the heads/segments below the top fire a continuous laser while rotating as the topmost head/segment fires more direct shots.

Pit dodged through the laser, and blasted the top head with a forward-dash charged shot, destroying it. When the laser came back around, he dodged through it again and fired a Mega Laser, destroying the second head, and performed another forward-dash charged shot to blast the third one instantly. Finally, he rushed forth and spun his bow around in front of him like a buzz-saw, having flipped around one of the blades to properly achieve the effect. The Stackjaw was dispatched.

 _"Bows are a really good fit for you,"_ Palutena observed.

"Yeah! I've been using them for a long time," Pit replied.

 _"They're well suited for ranged attacks, and they split into blades for close combat. They're very well-rounded weapons."_

"Oh, I know. I used them in the last brawl."

 _"Brawl?! How horrible! Were you hurt?"_

"No way, it was a smash!"

 _"I just can't imagine_ _you_ _in a_ _melee_ _!"_

"That's because I wasn't."

Pit walked on, coming to a wide staircase that led to a wall, with two thinner staircases on either side. To the left was one directed upwards, to the right was one that led down to a small hole. Dashing up the stairs, Pit fired at a Komayto that tried to ambush him, but it latched on to him anyway. In his struggle to remove it, he fell down the hole the lower stairs led to, only to bounce right back up and impale the Komayto with his bow-blades.

" _Remember, Pit, you have to use melee attacks to take down Komaytos,"_ Palutena reminded. Pit walked back to the hole and looked down to see a purple circle pad. He hopped down, but it bounced him right back out. He did a back flip before landing as Palutena spoke again. _"That looks like a jump pad in there."_

"Get up, fall down, get up, fall down. Fight in the air, fight on the ground."

" _It's the story of your life, isn't it?"_

"Peaks and valleys, highs and lows, pick your friends, not your nose."

With that, Pit moved on up the other stairs, taking out a pair of Syrens above some lower buildings. He now stood on a cracked and ruined path, a Monolith flipping around and floating back and forth in a zigzag around the in-tact and crumbling parts of the road. He walked on and down some stairs that led to some houses with Jump Pads on them, where multiple Shernums of varying sizes ambushed him. He evaded their attacks and dispatched a few of them with a single backward-dash charged shot, then dashed forth and split his bow, slashing with the separated pieces. The immediate threats gone, he destroyed the jar that spawned them and used one jump pad on the ground to get on the first roof, grabbing a nearby Grenade and jumping across the rooftops using the pad while shooting down a Daphne. "Woop! This is great! Yeah!" he cheered on each jump.

He landed in an alleyway. Noticing foes to the right, he turned and threw the grenade at a Shernum-spawning jar and a Minos, instantly destroying both in the explosion. Minos are basically red balloons with spikes, two eyes, and a mouth with tusks. When damaged, they bloat up and explode in fire. From the destroyed monsters a key appeared in front of a gate that blocked off a large courtyard. Unfortunately, the gate didn't open, nor did it have a lock. Pit turned right and saw an alley leading upward and curving left, and walked that way.

" _Watch out!"_ two telepathic voices shouted at once, Pit barely evading as the red Hewdraw head burst through the houses on either side of the alley. Said head was followed by a barrage of staff shots from above.

"That came out of nowhere!" Pit exclaimed.

" _You're going to need help against surprise attacks like that,"_ Palutena said. _"Go to the courtyard ahead and I'll grant you a gift."_

"Really? That'd be great!" Pit replied, continuing onward. He noticed a gate to the aforementioned courtyard to his left, but a trio of Miks floating overhead distracted him from that. They flew over to his right, and he shot them down before noticing a Treasure Box in front of some burning rubble. He ran over an opened it, receiving a pair of Tiger Claws.

Claws are weapons that increase movement speed, fire rapidly, and excel at melee attacks. Tiger Claws resemble the claws of the real deal, have a round, red guard, and white fur for decoration at the backs. Each weapon per hand has three claws on it and fires talons.

Before he could do anything else, Pit heard strange music and found himself staring at a peculiar creature. It had a purple torso with a pair of lips on the front of its saucer-shaped hips, a pair of limbs that ended at an eye, a red head with a white swirl on it and a large feather coming from the back, and straw-like legs. Its strange dance made him unable to look at anything else, and he barely dodged a charging Fire Wyrm because of it. _"That's an Underworld Merenguy,"_ Palutena stated.

"Augh! I can't take my eyes off it!" Pit exclaimed.

" _Its bewitching dance moves really grab your attention and hold on to it. Better make a point of taking it down first."_

Pit quickly fired a forward-dash charged shot, dispatching the Merenguy quickly. Then, he turned and slashed through a Komayto that tried to sneak up on him, and evade the Fire Wyrm as it charged him again. He shot it down, unlocked the gate, and walked into the courtyard. "I'm ready for that gift now, Lady Palutena!"

" _All right then!"_

A pink mist momentarily filled the air...and left him completely unchanged. "Uh…what just happened?" Pit asked. Suddenly, the red Hewdraw head burst out of the ground with a roar, causing Pit to shout in shock and fear and fire a backward-dash charged shot and keep his distance.

" _Do you like the gift? It's my patented monster pheromone! Monsters just love the smell of it, and now it's all over you!"_

"What?! Are you _trying_ to kill me?!" Pit exclaimed, shooting at the head.

"Did you do something with your hair? You're suddenly looking _very_ attractive!" the Hewdraw head said.

" _Luckily, the pheromone only attracted one of the heads,"_ Palutena said as Pit dodged a tackle from the head and fired at it. _"I was wondering what you would've done if both of them at shown up!"_

"And you still went through with it?! I would've been finished for sure!" Pit cried, performing a backward-dash shot and beginning to run around the head.

" _Actually, I'd have just had to intervene."_

" _Despite my winsomeness and equanimity, I do have a strong streak of rascality."_

"I don't even know what that means!" Pit replied, running away from another attack from the head.

"I have a special treat for you!" The Hewdraw said. "But you have to come get it~!"

" _Don't believe him, Pit!"_

"Why shouldn't he?" the head asked. "Look at this face! I'm totally trustworthy!"

 _"Yeah, no."_ The telepathic voice was followed by a powerful staff blast that instantly finished the Hewdraw head.

"Whew, that was dicey!" Pit sighed. "Thanks, Shane."

" _I'm here to help."_

" _I don't think I'll be using the monster pheromone in the future."_

"I would hope not!"

" _What I mean is I won't need to use it."_

"Why do you say that?"

" _I located the other head. Let's go to the lake outside of town."_

Pit looked around and followed a green arrow pointing towards an opened gate leading to some stairs that led to a decently large area. To his left, a Monolith flew in a circle protecting some food, and to his right, the path curved. In the way of his progress was a Mega Mussel. Mega Mussels are oyster-like foes with many tiny leaf wings on the bottom shell. It's supported by a soft, pillar-like structure in the center with three rotating pearls in the center that are actually both its eyes and weak spot. Destroying the pearls kills it.

Pit evaded its shots and blasted the middle pearl with a side-dash charged shot, then fired thrice more to take out the top pearl. He evaded one final blast with an uncharged side-dash shot that also dispatched the Mega Mussel. Pit grabbed the food the Monolith 'guarded' and continued down the path, coming across a small courtyard that housed a Stackjaw in the center. It rose from the ground, and he immediately fired a forward-dash charged shot at the top head, and dodged through the laser as it passed over him before firing a side-dash shot at the second head. From above, a charged shot from a staff destroyed the head, allowing Pit to get in close and slash the final two heads until both expired.

That done, Pit walked back and up a set of stairs he hadn't immediately noticed, now at rooftop level. There, just before a jump pad leading what seemed to be a well, was a Gloomerang. Gloomerangs have only a single green hand with four fingers on the underside of a brown, hair-covered head and a pair of red leaves on the tops of their heads. On their faces are metal masks with symmetrical curved blades with a red jewel embedded in each, which are both their only defense and the boomerang that gives them their punny name. It threw said boomerang mask at Pit, who ducked under it and dispatched it with a forward-dash charged shot.

A blue, white, and green blur quickly flew down into the tunnel ahead, and the sound of staff fire could be heard, as well as the sound of Underworld troops expiring. Pit ran over to the jump pad and was bounced down. "What is this? A well?" he asked, noticing the flowing liquid and platforms with ramps.

" _That's not important, just keep moving forward."_

With the enemies already dispatched, Pit simply ran through the tunnel and up a ramp leading to the outside again. In front of him was a stairway to ground level, and to the right of said staircase was a Treasure Box. _"The other Hewdraw head is regenerating its body at the lake,"_ Palutena informed him as he retrieved a Power from the box.

"You don't think it'll have three heads again, do you?" he asked.

" _I should hope not. Their bickering was intolerable!"_ she replied. Pit continued up the stairs and turned around to see a jump pad. He made his way over to it, bouncing to the top of a square building that had a path that curved downward to the right. Suddenly, the sky darkened as a purple fire barrier blocked the path. _"It's an ambush!"_

"Yeah, that's right!" Pit confidently replied, "MY ambush! You're going down, monsters!" The first wave spawned, consisting of a Minos, Komayto, and Daphne. Pit saw a Grenade at the corner of the field just left of the path blocked by the purple firewall, and quickly grabbed and used it to instantly defeat the Komayto and Daphne. The Minos also exploded a few seconds after the grenade detonated. The second wave consisted of two Ganewmedes and a Mega Mussel, but they were taken care of by a Boom Rocket that spawned at Pit's feet. Boom Rockets are small rockets that fly into the air, and then come back down with an enormous blast that's ridiculously powerful and only hurts what the user wants it to.

* * *

The third wave consisted of a Merenguy, Stackjaw, and Syren. The Merenguy was dispatched by a charged staff shot from my Insight Staff as a Back Shield seemingly automatically equipped to Pit. I jumped off Winged Star and fell with my Aura Blade readied, bisecting the Stackjaw quickly while Pit dispatched the Syren with a forward-dash charged shot.

The sky returned to normal and the barrier vanished. I got back on Winged Star and blasted three Monoeyes that tried to ambush us. Pit opened the door to the lake and ran down the path as I ascended, deciding to let Pit take on Hewdraw himself. I'd get involved if he was in danger, of course.

Pit skidded to a halt at the shore as he saw the reborn Hewdraw with his body back. Hewdraw rose from the lake and roared before speaking. "So you've finished off the others, eh?" he asked.

"You know it!" Pit replied, splitting his bow and taking a battle stance.

"Then you've saved the best for last! Let's get down to _business_!" Hewdraw roared on the last word, and so they engaged. The serpent began by shooting three fireballs at Pit, who leapt aside and fired a charged shot from his bow.

" _Forward-dash attacks are very powerful,"_ Lady Palutena explained, _"Look for openings to use them. But DON'T do a forward dash attack when a fireball is headed at you."_

Hewdraw spat a blue sphere at Pit that broke apart and bounced upon hitting the ground. Pit danced around them as best he could and fired at Hewdraw again. Then, the serpent submerged himself, some balls of light appearing above the water.

"It went underwater?!" Pit asked, shooting some scaly rockets that were headed toward him.

" _Here's an idea. Shoot the orange balls of light to make them drop down. Try to lure the Hewdraw out that way."_

"Will do!" Pit complied, shooting the orange spheres. Unfortunately, none of them actually dropped on Hewdraw. I noticed one hovering over the scaly one and blasted it down for Pit, sending Hewdraw flying out of the lake and on to the shore behind Pit, where it helplessly flailed.

" _Now, Pit! Now!"_

"Time to lay the smackdown!" he declared, slashing rapidly at the serpent with his separated bow. After a few seconds, Hewdraw managed to squirm back into the water and emerged a farther distance away than before. He began charging an attack, using his serpentine body to its fullest in order to evade Pit's attacks while getting closer to shore. The attack fired, manifesting as a barrage of lasers that Pit barely jumped out of the way of, firing a side-dash charged shot. "Those lasers sure are hard to avoid!"

" _Here's an idea,"_ Lady Palutena offered for the second time, _"Wait 'til the last moment possible, then dodge to the side. Dodging can let you escape many situations unharmed, though there is a limit if you dodge too often."_

"Pit, catch!" I yelled, throwing him a Bob-omb.

He caught it and threw it at the Hewdraw, shouting, "Here ya go!" The weapon exploded in the serpent's face. Pit then evaded another barrage of fireballs and performed a forward-dash charged shot, hitting Hewdraw in the jaw. The serpent visibly flinched from this, and then dove underwater again.

"Pit, aim for the jaw!" I called down, realizing his weakness.

"Alright!" Pit replied, shooting the floating light-balls. Unfortunately, he hit a purple one that split apart and launched at him, though he managed to evade with a side-dash shot that knocked an orange one into Hewdraw, once again sending the serpent ashore. He quickly ran up to Hewdraw's jaw and rapidly spun his bow, hitting Hewdraw many times, and then finished with an upward slash as Hewdraw once again managed to dive back into the water.

It didn't take long for Hewdraw to resurface from the distance, launching another barrage of fireballs and even throwing in a sword beam from his horn. Pit managed to evade them all and fired one final forward-dash charged shot into Hewdraw's jaw. The serpent roared in pain, writhing in agony as a strange, sparkly glow enveloped his body.

"Mission complete!"

"Hewdraw slain!" I threw in.

" _That's another one of Medusa's commanders out of the way!"_

Hewdraw somehow focused on Pit through the pain of dying to speak. "Look how far you've come, Pit…I'm proud of you!" he said. Then, he fell down and exploded, water spiraling into the air and coming down in a nice, short rain shower that left a rainbow in the sky.

"Huh," Pit said, looking a bit unsure. "You don't usually meet such nice bosses…"

I said nothing, but stared at the lake below, thinking.

" _Let's get you back,"_ Lady Palutena said, extracting us both.

* * *

 **Chapter complete! Achievements and treasure:**

 **Standard Orbitars**

 **Tiger Claws**

 **Reflect Barrier Lv.3 Power**

 **Hewdraw Club**

 **Less ridiculous chapter length achieved!**

 **Complete a chapter under stressing circumstances achieved!**

 **-Continue-**

 **There's another Smash reference in this chapter, and I don't mean the Bob-omb. That's a Mario reference. Pit's first spin attack is the Angel Ring from Brawl, and the final one on Hewdraw is the ending slash of his infinite combo in For Wii U/3DS**

 **No big updates this time, though I made a mistake in the ending notes last time that I've fixed now. I've foreshadowed some things in both this chapter and the previous, so I suggest you carefully reread and consider everything. I've said this is my biggest series, and I mean it. I've been planning this for years now, and it's time I launched it. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to what I will try my hardest to make the greatest author avatar-centric fanfiction series ever. This….This is only the beginning. I'm not even 2% finished…..**

 **Oh, I almost forgot: In case you read Chapter 2 on a day after it uploaded, I'm releasing these chapters on a weekly basis, every Monday, usually in the afternoon.**

 **Alternate Scenes:**

* * *

"Where'd righty and lefty go?" the purple head asked as Pit returned to position.

"You're all alone!" he replied.

"Whatever. I never liked those guys anyway."

* * *

"Gah! The other heads! You have no right!" Red snapped as the blue fell below.

"Actually, I'd say you have no right!" Pit quipped, noticing that the red one was on the serpent's left.

"Okay, that's it! You're goin' down!"

* * *

"Why, hellooo angel!" The growly voice of the blue head 'smoothly' greeted. "I never noticed this before, but you have a certain (Can someone _please_ tell me how to spell what he says?! I have _no_ clue!)!

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Pit replied, dodging and shooting down a Gyrazer that followed the Hewdraw head.

"It's French...for 'I'm gonna eat you!'"

 _"Sorry, but Angel's not on the menu! Au revoir!"_ The telepathic voice was followed by a powerful staff blast that instantly finished the Hewdraw head.

"Whew, that was dicey!" Pit sighed. "Thanks, Shane."

* * *

"Oh, my goodness! What's come over me?" The purple head's accent did not help. "I cannot resist you! You smell too good!"

"Ew! Back off!" Pit exclaimed, switching to the new Orbitars and back flipping as he fired a charged shot.

"I just want to cuddle you! _To death!_ " the tone switched to oddly serious on that last part.

 _"Okay, NO!"_ The telepathic voice was followed by a powerful staff blast that instantly finished the Hewdraw head.

"Whew, that was dicey!" Pit sighed. "Thanks, Shane."

* * *

The blue serpent roared as he rose. "So you took out my brothers..."

"Yep, sure did!" Pit replied, splitting his bow and taking a battle stance.

"Wonderful, wonderful! Thank you so much! Now I'm finally _free_!"

"We'll show you the real superpower of teamwork! You just don't understand it!" I tossed in, taking my own stance.

* * *

"No...I'm too pretty to die!" the monster complained. Then, it fell under the water and exploded, sending water spiraling into the air and coming down in a nice, short rain shower that left a rainbow in the sky.

"More like petty," I threw in, annoyed.

"And there you have it. Victorious." Pit stated.

 _"Good work. Let's be on our way."_

* * *

"Well, well, so nice to see you again!" The red snake greeted somewhat sarcastically.

"You won't feel that way for long!" Pit replied, splitting his bow and taking a battle stance.

"You'll get no sympathy from me!" I tossed in, taking my own stance.

"Hyahahahahahaaa! That's big talk, little _firecrackers_!"

* * *

"Before I die, I just wanna say-" it fell down before it could finish, exploding and sending water spiraling into the air. Said water came back down in a nice, short rain shower that left a rainbow in sky.

"And that's the end of him!"

 _"I wonder what he was going to say?"_ Lady Palutena and I simultaneously replied as we were extracted.


End file.
